While you can use your smartphone as a SatNav in your car, even just reach out and touching the screen can land you in serious trouble.

Figures obtained by the Press Association revealed that more than 200 drivers a day were caught using their mobile phones illegally in the four weeks after the changes took effect, equivalent to one every seven minutes.

Motoring groups have warned that the crackdown on illegal mobile usage risks being undermined by a lack of dedicated traffic police officers.